Microsoft and Google: Courtroom Enemies, Software Buddies

[jmiller]

While the legal teams of Google and Microsoft butt heads in court over defector Kai-Fu Lee, and as the two rivals bout for search supremacy, the two leviathan companies find win-win cozy situations when it comes to Google plug-ins for Microsoft programs.

Google just released Blogger for Word, a downloadable tool bar that allows bloggers to publish, save drafts, and edit posts directly from MS Word. Add that new Google feature to Google’s toolbar for IE, Google Earth that works on Windows only, and Google Desktop Search, and you have a whole new pair of giants holding hands.

Mr. Scoble at Microsoft blogs often about dealing with Google behind the scenes and hints that CEO Steve Ballmer isn’t mad at Google all the time, just mad over Dr. Lee. In fact, according to Scoble, Balmer has some “funny math,” to outline the benefits of working with Google.

Referring to all the platforms created by Google to perform on Microsoft products, Scoble extends the phrase to “win-win-win.”

“As Steve Ballmer said with his funny math: 1+1=3. One company (Microsoft) works with another company (Google) and three entities win (Microsoft/Google/Customers). Value is created that didn't exist yesterday.”

While Bill Gates speaks dramatically about the “Google Challenge”, it would appear that the two aren’t really bitter enemies, but often in bed with each other. After all, business is business.

This isn’t to say that Google’s success isn’t a concern for Microsoft. Scoble jokes about different strategies to slow down his company’s “rival.”

“I think I found a good strategy to slow down Google: one weekend we should show up with 400 Xbox 360 machines and install them around Google. We all know engineers can't resist playing with new hardware.”

The situation is reminiscent of all those couples you meet who “fight just so they can make up.” Who knows? Maybe they’ll marry one day to become Moogle or GoogleSoft. I think Moogle has a better ring to it. What do you think?

[Evic]

Quite a far-fetched comparison I'd say. Google has no choice but to develop for Microsoft systems, just like the rest of the industry.

If the two were truly in bed with one another, you would see at least some of Microsoft's technology in Google's products. As of now, it's all Google in Microsoft, which is nothing new. Every company on earth is in Microsoft.